Rav's Duckumentary - Call duckling babies (pic heavy)

[WVduckchick]

Yes I do And Zilla loves his Calls. They grew up together:

He loves his ducks. They live together in the coop and do very well. I've never had issues with my geese and my ducks getting along. Zilla will hopefully get a girlfriend this year and the pair will live with the Calls.

How much bigger is Zilla than them now? Any recent pics?

 

[Pyxis]

Tufted Romans aren't very big as geese go are they? Probably exactly what I need.

They're the smallest domestic breed of goose

 

[Ravynscroft]

You'd do best showing them the creek than trying to keep them from it... guaranteed they will find it and then they'll be like kids who found the stash of Halloween candy, lol... you can train ducks fairly easily, especially Calls... take them to it and herd them back, keep them on a schedule and they'll do well with that... patience and consistency is key...

Yes, they can share a run with chickens, mine free range with chickens and sneak into my Ameraucanas pen, lol... the chickens are just offended by what the ducks do to their water is all...

Pyxis gave you great advice on the geese/ducks stuff, she has a ton more experience there than I do for sure... hope y'all can arrange a meetup!

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Thanks, @Ruralhideaway , Peg is a special girl... she is a Snowy, but not a breeder... due to incubation temp spikes she hatched with only one leg... so she enjoys the super spoiled life, lol...

Oh, they don't have to have completely covered area for winter, but wind blocked area is key... and a dry section of straw/shavings or similar to get off snow is essential...

Don't let Calls stay out at night, they're prime targets for any predators and a particular favorite of owls... at least a netted, secure run is ideal...

I'll never allow that again. That's why I think I'll have to do a little creek area fencing. They'd hop in the creek near the lawn then swim down into the wetland area where walking is hard let alone mowing, impossible! So no way to get them back unless they wanted to come. I never slept, worried too much. Never again.

New ducks and geese could have an 11 x 9 fenced and top netted run of their own, (plus electric around the whole thing), plus access to the covered run year round with small houses for sleeping. Couple hundred feet of hardware cloth sitting here ready for thaw. Somehow I ended up with 19 chickens so I'm planning to do this run just once and build big. Never know when I'll end up with an incubator after all.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Good planning!

For the ducks and geese, you could just plan one large coop that you could divide if needed, cut down on amount of building... just a thought...

 

[shawluvsbirds]

She looks like a squeaky toy in that Pic with her tongue hanging out

 

[Ravynscroft]

She looks like a squeaky toy in that Pic with her tongue hanging out

She sure didn't sound like a squeaky toy!

Funny, though... I pick on the boys when their voices 'crack' cuz most either sound like squeaky toys or kazoos, lol...

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Of course! I don't mind friends saving pics for personal use...



I might have an idea... same thing this does to you??

View attachment 1265879

Exhausted Button napping on my arm, lol..

poor sweet button

 

[FridayYet]

Best Calls in the country! (OK, I might be a bit biased!)

 

[RubyNala97]

My little guy swam for the first time tonight! It was so cute watching him paddle around for the very first time. I put tiny pieces of lettuce in the water and he was so excited about it that it took him forever to start swimming. But once he started there was no turning back. And he's so smart, when he had enough, he jumped out and hopped into the towel. Ravyn, you have given me so much amusement in my life!